In computer networks, a number of network stations are typically interconnected via a communications medium. For example, Ethernet 802.3 is a commonly used local area network (LAN) scheme in which multiple stations are connected to a shared or dedicated serial data path. These stations often communicate with a switch or some other network device located between the data path and the stations connected to that path. The switch typically controls the communication of packets and includes logic for receiving and forwarding packets to their appropriate destinations.
A common problem in conventional network switches occurs when a network switch receives a packet during a time in which the switch's resources are too busy to process the packet. Such processing may include, for example, an address lookup operation. During these times, the network switch may either delay packet processing until such time that resources become available or drop the packet.